Another Chance
by Agent Malkere
Summary: Darcy returns from London early before Lady Catherine can interfer or Bingley can propose, but is badly injured and forced to stay with the Bennets. What effect will this have on the out come of the story? DarcyElizabeth
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but I really, really wish I did. **

_Summary: What if Mr. Darcy returned early from London before his aunt interfered, but was seriously injured and forced to stay with the Bennets? What if Bingley didn't get up the nerve to propose to Jane while Darcy was gone? What would have happened then? _

_If you are reading this and wondering what the heck happened to my other stories – do not give up on me! I have writer's block at the moment!_

_**Chapter 1**_

Lightning slashed across the ferocious night sky as the horse and rider battled their way through the storm. It had been a bad idea, riding ahead after the baggage coach like that, Fitzwilliam Darcy decided as the rain pelted down, soaking him to the skin. His stallion jigged nervously under him as Darcy carefully guided it through the dark trees and along the road towards Netherfield. He hoped to be able to congratulate Bingley on his arrival on his engagement to Miss Bennet, that was, if Darcy had been right and that his friend would have proposed by now. In the past few months, it seemed that Bingley had finally developed a backbone.

Darcy's thoughts were interrupted as his mount half reared, reminding him that now was not a good time to be lost in thought. He glanced up at the sky, squinting against the rain. He couldn't be that far from his destination now, could he? But he had no time to wonder for, at that moment, a monstrous roar of thunder seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth and his horse bolted into the trees. Suddenly completely out of control of the situation, Darcy clung desperately to the creature's neck, praying that it would stop.

He never knew what happened next because, just as he thought the beast beneath him was beginning to slow, a wayward tree branch snagged his coat and dragged him off the panicking horse. He was unconscious before he ever hit the ground.

-O-O-O-

Elizabeth Bennet stared moodily up at the gray clouds over head that were all that remained of the previous night's gale. The earth and turned to mud and every leaf and blade of grass dripped with an over abundance of water, but she and Jane had gone walking, they'd done a lot of walking of late. Beside her, Jane hummed tunelessly, wondering if she would see Mr. Bingley again today. Did he really still love her as Lizzie so adamantly proclaimed? She glanced over at her usually talkative and cheerful sister,

"Lizzie, you are very quiet today. Is something the matter?"

Elizabeth glanced over at her. Something was the matter but she really didn't want to talk about it.

"No, Jane." She smiled but it didn't quite make it to her eyes. "Everything is perfectly alright." They walked slowly in silence for a few more minutes, and then Jane tried a different subject,

"That was a terrible storm last night." Lizzie nodded her agreement,

"I thought for sure that we'd wake up very wet with no roof over our heads this morning!" Jane laughed then stopped and frowned. "What is it?" Her sister peered over to see what she was looking at. Jane bent down and picked up the object in question turning it this way and that in her hands.

"It appears to be a gentleman's top hat." Elizabeth rolled her eyes,

"I can see that. What I meant is, what is it doing here?"

"I don't know." Lizzie reached over and took the hat from Jane's unresisting hands. She flipped over the inside brim in hope of possibly finding the initials of its owner. On the right side, she found them: F.D.

"Do we know anyone with the initials 'F.D.'?"

"I don't think so, unless it's Mr. Darcy's hat, Lizzie, for I do not know his first name." Elizabeth let the hat spin slowly around on her finger as, unbidden, an image of the man who had been plaguing her thoughts of late appeared in her mind.

"Well, if we see any men wondering around these woods without a hat on, we shall know it is his." Elizabeth walked forward again, once again lost in thought, but not for long.

As she wandered slowly out of the clearing, something in the shadows of the trees caught her eye and drew her out of her reverie. What was it? She squinted and stepped closer. Poking out from behind a dense shrub was a boot… a man's riding boot. A sudden sense of urgency caused Elizabeth to quicken her pace.

"Lizzie? Where are you off to?" Jane called after her. Elizabeth ignored her sister, instead gasping and covering her mouth in horror. She had, in heart of hearts, longed to see Mr. Darcy again, but… not like this. His clothes were bloody and torn and stained with mud. He was soaked to the skin, his dark hair stuck together in clumps, and every scrap of the composure he had always done his best to maintain in their previous meetings had fled in face of the fact that he was unconscious.

Elizabeth slowly knelt down next to Mr. Darcy and reached out and gently brushed a finger against the skin. His hand was ice cold but his face was burning up with fever. She felt strangely detached from the scene, like she was watching it happen to someone else. Lizzie was only vaguely aware when Jane gasped behind her.

"Jane, run back to the house. Tell them what has happened then have father send someone down to Netherfield to inform Mr. Bingley of what has happened. Quickly!"

-O-O-O-

Charles Bingley was pacing up and down the length of his study in worried frustration. If only Darcy had been more definite about how and when he was to be arriving! For all Bingley knew, he might have been caught in that dreadful storm last night!

He turned at the end of the room and was about to start off in the opposite direction again when the doors of his study unexpectedly burst open.

"I'm sorry, sir!" gasped the servant desperately. "But I thought you'd want to know right away sir!" Bingley's head shot up from his transfixed gaze on the carpet,

"Know what?"

"They've found Mr. Darcy, sir!"

-O-O-O-

Elizabeth sat by her silent companion and waited until the men arrived with Mr. Bingley in their lead. They wanted him to be taken back to Netherfield but she pointed out that they were only a little less than a mile from Loungborn, whereas Netherfield was at least three miles from where they now stood and moving Mr. Darcy very far would probably worsen his condition. Mr. Bingley gave her a strange look as she said all this but Elizabeth ignored it instead looking back to the unconscious man on the ground.

Word was sent ahead to Loungborn that they were about to receive a visitor who would be staying with them for an indefinite amount of time.

_Review, Review, review! It is your reviews upon which I thrive! Will write more soon, hehehe, is Darcy ever going to get a shock when he wakes up!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2 **_

The small room was cheerful and full of light and, as Mr. Darcy opened his eyes, he couldn't remember any place he'd ever been in that looked like this room – except maybe some of the quarters at Pemberly and he had the distinct feeling he wasn't there. A very small pianoforte stood against the wall to Darcy's left and to his right was the door. Where was he? He squinted through the haze of fever as the pale yellow walls around him blurred in and out of focus in time with the pounding pain in his head.

The last thing he remembered was his stallion bolting as he had been riding for Netherfield. Darcy rubbed the index finger and thumb of his right hand together which was his habit whenever he was anxious or nervous. Who knew where he could have ended up! His horse could have carried him miles in its blind panic before he'd fallen off! He tried to sit up so he could better take in his surroundings but fever and unconsciousness had rendered his limbs useless. Feeling incredibly frustrated, Darcy was forced to lay back down quietly and wait. As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long.

A few moments later, Darcy turned his head slightly as he heard the door quietly opening to his right. In under astonishment and relief, he realized that the person who had entered the room was Bingley. He was looking tired and stressed maybe, but it was still Bingley!

As Charles turned around, his eyes widened in surprise as he perceived Darcy watching him.

"Darcy! Welcome back to the land of the living!"

Darcy frowned at his friend,

"Bingley, _what_ is going on? Where am I?" Bingley shuffled his feet nervously wondering where to begin. He had a feeling Darcy was not going to take this well.

"Welllll… You've been unconscious for nearly three days and I was being to quite despair of you. If it hadn't been for-" He began, but was interrupted by the sound of feet running past the door and loud laughing apparently from the owner of the pounding feet. A high shrill voice screeched after the hasty person,

"Kitty! Do not make noise so! Have some compassion for my poor nerves!"

Bingley bit the inside of his lip. Well, that wasn't quite how he'd intended things to go. He turned back to his friend, whose face was even paler than before. Oh dear. Charles mentally squared his shoulders.

"Please, please, tell me Bingley that we are _not_ at _Longbourn_!"

Bingley smiled nervously,

"Well, actually, now that you mention it –" Inwardly, Darcy groaned.

-O-O-O-

Elizabeth stared across the wide open fields and down towards the tree at the edge of the wood as she walked. The word tired didn't even begin to describe the way she felt and the term exhausted did them little better justice. So much had happened in the past three days and Lizzie felt as though she hadn't slept a single wink throughout all of it! If only she was more like Jane, then she'd be able to handle this whole situation better!

Jane. She was the only reason that Mrs. Bennet hadn't been less tolerant of Mr. Darcy being allowed to stay at Longbourn because, Mrs. Bennet reasoned, Mr. Bingley, being the good gentleman that he was, would certainly be over to visit his sick friend at least once a day and he could _help_ but run into Jane while he was there. Elizabeth was made uncomfortable by her mother's reasoning but she could not but feel happy for Jane whenever she saw her with Mr. Bingley, her sister had never seemed so alive before.

With a sigh, Lizzie slowly turned her steps back towards Longbourn and the confusion her own home was now causing her. Well, not her own home as much as a certain person currently in unconscious in her home. His returning into her life in such a way had stirred a whole range of emotions that she had only just begun to become aware that she even had when she had visited Pemberly with the Gardeners.

Elizabeth had never felt so awkward around her own family before. In the middle of the night the night after Mr. Darcy had been carried upstairs to the guest bedroom, Elizabeth had snuck into his room. She wasn't sure what had come over her, but she'd suddenly had an intense _need_ to see him. Was this how Jane ever felt? Lizzie had sat by his bedside for nearly half an hour taking in his disheveled, battered appearance and during some point taking his hand in her own and just holding it. How embarrassing, she now thought, it would have been if he had woken up at that time and found her holding his hand. It would have been _very_ hard to explain. 'And what, Miss Elizabeth, are you doing in a gentleman's bedroom in the middle of the night?' Lizzie smiled half heartedly to herself. At the end of the half hour visual, Elizabeth had felt strangely comforted and as though she might _finally_ be able to slept fitfully, but it was not to be. She had only just sneaked back out of Mr. Darcy's room when Elizabeth had run into Kitty on the landing who had been going down to get a drink of water, or so she said, though Elizabeth had been more inclined to believe that Kitty intended to pinch something from the pantry. Lizzie had said nothing about her suspicion to her younger sister, instead being glad that it was dark and that Kitty was unable to see the blush reddening her second eldest sister's cheeks and neck. If it had been Jane and not Kitty, Elizabeth was sure that Jane would have noticed it and been caused to ask quite a few awkward questions that Elizabeth wasn't even certain she new the answer to herself, yet.

Elizabeth's quiet reverie was jolted out of existence as Kitty came running up as Lizzie neared the house,

"Lizzie! Lizzie! Jane asked me to find you and tell you, Mr. Darcy's awake!" Kitty wrinkled her nose at the thought of the gentleman in question, but Elizabeth quicken her pace in her hurry to reach Longbourn.

_Review, review, review! It is your reviews upon which I thrive and am inspired to write more! Chapter 3 coming soon, hehehe… more with Darcy (well, duh, how obvious **can** I get) and soon to be joining the cast, Georgiana!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 **_

"_Bingley!_" It came out as a hoarse moan without the power Charles was used to his friend putting behind words. Darcy may be awake, Charles decided, but not ready to face the Bennet family or Caroline flinging herself at him when they returned to Netherfield quite yet. A very vivid image popped into Bingley's mind of Caroline catapulting herself at his friend. He shuddered slightly then grimaced. It was a fate worse than death – so why did he have to be related to her? Why did he have to end up with the two abominably rude sisters trailing around after him for the rest of his life? Darcy's voice interrupted his thoughts,

"What's happened while I've been unconscious?"

"Well, before you were found, I enjoyed having a nice, quiet panic attack in my study where the servants couldn't see me. Then, oh yes. Did I mention who found you?"

Darcy frowned at him suspiciously,

"No."

Bingley gave him a calculating look, wondering if his friend was strong enough to hear this. Oh well, he'd find out soon enough,

"Miss Elizabeth Bennet." Darcy let out a choking gasp and half sat up in bed before flopping back down again in utter exhaustion.

"Miss Elizabeth Bennet?" he repeated weakly, staring miserably at the ceiling.

"Oh, come on, Darcy. She's a very nice young lady."

"I know," his friend mumbled into his pillow, rolling on his side slightly so Charles couldn't see his face. "That's not the point."

"Well, what is the point?" But Bingley knew he wasn't going to get an answer to that question, at least not right now. Deep fatigue was already evident on Darcy's face and it was obvious to Charles that he didn't want to talk about Miss Elizabeth and naïve as Bingley seemed at times he had a fairly good idea _why_ Darcy didn't want to talk about her.

"The point?" asked Darcy. "When did I need a point?" He let the subject drop. "Has Georgiana heard what's happened?"

"Yes, she's already on her way."

Darcy nodded mutely then rubbed his throat,

"Is there any water in here?" he asked hopefully, unsuccessfully trying to sit up again.

As Charles moved to help his friend get a drink of water he wondered what had happened recently to cause that expression he had seen on Miss Elizabeth's face the day she had found Darcy. He'd have to ask Georgiana if she knew anything about this when she arrived.

-o-o-o-

Georgiana Darcy stared quietly out of her coach window out over the distant fields. This was all so strange. For some reason, a part of her that had never grown up had always believed that her brother was immune to pain and ailments. Georgiana shook her head in silent amusement; how wrong had she been and had only realized it in this past year. Only just realized that her brother was actually human. And now Will had gone and fallen off his horse in a storm and hit his head. Not only had he rendered himself unconscious and ill but none other than Miss Elizabeth Bennet had found him! A mischievous smile lit up her features as a perfectly marvelous thought came to her. Oh, if only she had been there to see Will's face when he found out! Miss Elizabeth had been such a wonderful person, so kind. Georgiana was looking forward to seeing her again, even if it was because of her brother's unfortunate accident, which Georgiana had been rather waiting to happen due to his distractedness of late and Will's notorious inaccuracy at predicting the weather. Well, since it sounded now as though the only lasting side effects would be William having to take several months at home at Pemberly to recover completely once he could travel, Miss Darcy saw no reason why _she_ couldn't take advantage of the situation. He was staying with the _Bennets_ after all. Surely he would not expect his little, timid sister to be plotting something on his behalf? And Miss Elizabeth's?

Still smiling, the girl sat back in her seat with a sigh then glanced out the window again and felt some of the confidence she had discovered within herself in the past months fade slightly. Netherfield house was now in sight reminding Georgiana that on this visit to the Bingleys she would be fending for herself with no Will to help her. Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Hurst! Georgiana rubbed her fingers together apprehensively. Maybe the Bennets had another spare room….

_Please review! Tell me what you think! Sorry this chapter is so short – I promise the next one will be longer. Also, any ideas on what might happen next will be appreciated! Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

By the time Georgiana finally escaped from Caroline Bingley's insincere clutches, the young Miss Darcy couldn't wait to be away. One could only listen to someone else moan about the condition of one's sibling for so long before it became tempting to sneak into their room in the middle of the night and either sew something small but sharp into the inside of their corset or smother said someone with a convenient pillow. And the same could be said about being referred to as 'Poor Georgiana' all the time. At this rate, Miss Bingley would be receiving both treatments in quick succession from her supposedly timid 'friend.' Georgiana was wondering what it would be like to be a murderess as the carriage pulled into view of Longbourn.

Longbourn was much smaller than Netherfield but its grounds were none the less beautiful. She wondered absently if her rather earlier than expected arrival would cause a stir among the residents of the house. Mr. Bingley was already there, Georgiana knew because he hadn't been at Netherfield when she'd left.

Whatever Miss Darcy had been expecting, it wasn't what greeted her when she alighted from the carriage. One moment she thought she was alone, the next she was surrounded by young women and one older woman whom she thought it was safe to assume to be Mrs. Bennet and an older man and Mr. Bingley standing a little farther back.

"Miss Darcy! I'm so glad you are here." Miss Elizabeth was suddenly in front of her, smiling tiredly. Georgiana thought about being proper and formal in her greeting, but threw that idea to the wind. What was the point of it all, if you couldn't be spontaneous and casual once in a while?

"Miss Elizabeth! It's so good to see you again! It's a shame we're meeting again because my brother hit his head in _another_ riding accident, but it's still a pleasure to see you."

"Another riding accident?" asked Elizabeth sounding surprised.

"Oh, yes. I'm afraid that my brother has become rather notorious. It's not that he isn't a good rider," she amended quickly, hoping she hadn't accidentally tarnished the second eldest Miss Bennet's opinion of her brother with her rash statement. "It's just that he's never been very good at predicting things… like the weather." Georgiana let out an internal sigh of relief as she saw Miss Elizabeth's smile widen slightly. "So this is your family?" she asked looking a little nervously at the unfamiliar people still standing around her; Georgiana had never been very good with strangers.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I did not introductions," Elizabeth apologized. "These are my father and mother – Mr. and Mrs. Bennet." She gestured to the man and the older, flustered looking woman. "My older sister, Jane, and my two younger sisters, Mary and Kitty."

Miss Darcy curtsied to them politely,

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

-O-O-O-

From his position in the bed, Darcy could just see out of one of the rooms two windows. If he had been able to sit up on his own he would have been able to see even better but every time he tried Darcy felt dizzy and lightheaded and extra color began swirling and dancing in front of his eyes. He watched as the coach pulled up and his little sister stepped out only to be quickly surrounded by the Bennets. She had grown up so much in the past year; Georgiana was turning into quite the young lady. He smiled slightly to himself as he sawing her speaking to Miss Elizabeth, who had her back to him.

Darcy closed his eyes as the two young women disappeared from his view of the window. He hadn't seen Elizabeth since their chance meeting at Pemberley and the visit she and her aunt and uncle had paid Georgiana and him a day or two after that. That didn't mean he hadn't been thinking about her, though. Georgiana had accused him a number of times of brooding in the past few months. And, of course, he had tracked down the despicable George Wickham and the youngest Bennet girl for her, not that she knew – which was a good thing. Darcy didn't want her to know that he had helped save her family's good name. Miss Elizabeth had made it more than clear before that she was not, and never would be, interested in him. However, when he'd last seen her, she'd seemed to react to him… differently, but she'd had to leave before he could make any sense of it.

And now he was here, in her _house_ as a – well 'guest' wasn't quite the right word but it was a bit closer to what he was than 'intruder' though Darcy was fairly certain Mrs. Bennet wouldn't think so. Elizabeth had _found_ him, which, judging by his condition even now nearly a week later, must have been a thoroughly shocking and unpleasant experience for her. If she hadn't found him, though, he probably would have died. Bingley had said that hardly anyone ever walked in the part of the wood where he had been found and that, after such a horrific storm, Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth were probably the only ones even outside at the time. He was extremely lucky to be alive.

Darcy opened his eyes again as he heard two voices and footsteps approaching his room. There was a soft nock and the door cracked open as Georgiana peeked in to make sure her brother was awake.

"Come in," he called to her, voice still a little hoarse from dryness and the fever which he still had. Georgiana smiled and opened the door wider so that she could enter. Darcy's eye caught a glimpse of dark curls before the door shut as Miss Elizabeth turned to go back down the stairs. His younger sister pulled up the bench that for the piano forte so that she could sit next to him.

"Oh, Will." Dropping all formality, Georgiana leaned forward and gave her elder brother a quick hug. "Brother, you must stop trying to second guess the weather! You're going to get yourself killed! I thought last time was terrible, but this is by far the worst yet!"

"Well, I'm here now and I think that this time I have finally learned my lesson," he replied, raising one hand and rubbing his temples gingerly.

"Good!" The girl put her hands on her hips in a mock stern manner. "I never want to go through that again, brother! I didn't know until I arrived at Netherfield yesterday that you had finally woken up."

"That's because I only did wake up for the first time yesterday."

"Oh." All of her annoyance seemed to wither and die. She hugged him again, a little longer this time. "You gave me such a terrible fright, Will! I was afraid I was going to lose you!" Darcy hugged her back, a little awkwardly because he was lying down and weak from sickness.

"I'm sorry I scared you."

-O-O-O-

"Miss Lizzie? Miss Lizzie?" Elizabeth stopped in the door of the Library and turned to see the cook calling to her. She crossed the hall to where the servant was standing, beckoning to her.

"What is it, Letty?" she asked, curiously as the servant dropped into a low curtsy.

"I beg your pardon for troubling you, Miss, but Phil is sick and the mistress asked me to brew a pot of tea for Mr. Darcy and his sister and there's no one here to take it up. I would take it up myself but if I leave the kitchen now the master's luncheon will burn," the cook said apologetically. Lizzie smiled at her.

"I'd be happy to take it up for you, Letty."

"Oh, thank you, Miss!" The servant curtsied again and quickly scuttled back into the kitchen. "I won't be a moment – I've already put it on a tray." After a few minutes, the cook returned bearing a silver tray with a tea pot, two cups and saucers, and a small selection of tea cakes atop its shiny surface. The wiry woman handed it carefully to Elizabeth. "Thank you, Miss. I'm sorry to be troubling you with this."

"I already told you, it's no trouble at all. I'm always glad to help." The servant curtsied one last time and then scurried back into the kitchen as Elizabeth began to slowly climb the stairs holding the tea tray securely with both hands. The familiar faint creak of the floorboards followed Lizzie as she walked down the hall towards the spare bedroom. She could hear the quite murmur of voices drifting through the air.

Balancing the tray extremely carefully as she had observed maids do in the past; Elizabeth used her free hand to rap her knuckles gently on the door.

"Yes?" asked Georgiana's voice from inside.

"I've brought you some tea," Elizabeth called back, hoping that she wasn't disturbing them.

"Oh, please, come in!"

Elizabeth opened the door part way with one hand, used her foot to stop it from swinging shut again as she repositioned the tray so that she was once more holding the silver plate with two hands, and then used her shoulder to open the door the rest of the way in a rather unladylike manner.

Miss Darcy smiled shyly at her from her seat next to her brother and Elizabeth returned the smile kindly.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you. Our maid's sick and the cook asked me to bring this up," Lizzie explained as she set the tray on the small table next to the bed. She couldn't help glancing at Mr. Darcy – it was the first time she'd seen him since he had woken up. He looked tired and pale, though his cheeks were still flushed with fever, his curly black hair looking rather wild as it stuck out in strange and random angles around his head. His dark eyes met hers for the briefest of moments before she looked away again.

"Oh, no, not at all!" Georgiana assured her quickly. "In fact, your timing was quite perfect, Miss Elizabeth!" the girl hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Would you like to join us?"

"Thank you, Miss Darcy, but I really can't intrude on you like that."

Miss Darcy looked rather put out,

"Are you sure? It would be absolutely no trouble."

"Yes, I am, but," Elizabeth added seeing the girl's sad expression, "I promise I will have tea with you once your brother's health has improved. Would you like that?"

Georgiana brightened up immediately,

"Oh, yes, that would be delightful! Thank you!"

"Your welcome." Elizabeth began to turn to leave, looking one last time at Mr. Darcy, who had stayed silent throughout the entire conversation. He caught her eye and gave her a small and tired but genuine smile of gratitude. She left quickly, closing the door behind her, and then hurried down the hall and half way down the stairs. Lizzie stopped and leaned against the wall in the relative darkness of the landing.

_He smiled at me._ Despite the cool air, Elizabeth felt the heat of a blush creeping up towards her cheeks. Oh, dear. She was starting to sound like Lydia.

-O-O-O-

Because Elizabeth ran away from the room so quickly, she didn't hear the conversation which ensued only seconds after the door had closed.

Darcy was staring thoughtfully at the last spot Elizabeth had been standing before she had left and didn't notice his younger sister scrutinizing him.

"Brother," she asked curiously, leaning forward slightly to get a better look at his face, "are you blushing?"

This question snapped Darcy out of his reverie immediately,

"What?" he asked startled. "Why would you think I was doing something like that?"

"Maybe because you're only ever pale when you're sick. Never before have you're cheeks shared a coloring similar to a tomato."

"How could you know that?"

"Maybe because you are my brother and I know you too well? Besides, you _were_ blushing."

"I was not."

_A/N: I'm finally back! Sorry it has taken so long for me to post this chapter – I made it extra long to somewhat make up for it. And before I get any complaints – yes, I realize Georgiana is OOC, but hey, it's my story and it is much more fun when Georgiana actually has some self confidence. ;P I hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter! Please review and thanks for reading!_


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